Tweet
I realize that this is something of a different situation, but the Boston Celtics - with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parrish in their primes - did this with Hartford, CT.
They played one preseason and three regular season games at the Hartford Civic Center. This went on for years. My father and I went to pretty much every one of these games.
Eventually, they pulled out and quit coming here. But they'd already generated the interest in the Celtics that remains with the team today. I'm a living example, although I've grown somewhat disenchanted with the NBA, I still keep on eye on what the Celtics are doing.
I'm wondering if the motives are not genuine here. Put aside Ralph's yapping today for just a second. What if the overall goal here is to generate some interest over the next few years and then pull back to all 8 home games in Orchard Park? It does make sense, from a business standpoint, to take an approach like this to generate a larger interest in the team.
Worked for the Celtics.
For those of you who want to respond with "you'd have been a Celtic fan anyway living in NE CT". I'd like to respond with, "Well, just how do you figure I wound up a Bills fan?". CT is a peripheral state in the sports world. We're stuck between Boston and NYC. Our allegiance to sports teams is influenced by parents, peers, and what is most available. For fledgling NFL fans in Toronto, this may very likely draw them in to the Buffalo Bills world.
Of course, the fatal flaw could be the prices. Your typical new fan is what, 10 to 15 years old? Not too sure where they came up with the $250/ticket idea.
They played one preseason and three regular season games at the Hartford Civic Center. This went on for years. My father and I went to pretty much every one of these games.
Eventually, they pulled out and quit coming here. But they'd already generated the interest in the Celtics that remains with the team today. I'm a living example, although I've grown somewhat disenchanted with the NBA, I still keep on eye on what the Celtics are doing.
I'm wondering if the motives are not genuine here. Put aside Ralph's yapping today for just a second. What if the overall goal here is to generate some interest over the next few years and then pull back to all 8 home games in Orchard Park? It does make sense, from a business standpoint, to take an approach like this to generate a larger interest in the team.
Worked for the Celtics.
For those of you who want to respond with "you'd have been a Celtic fan anyway living in NE CT". I'd like to respond with, "Well, just how do you figure I wound up a Bills fan?". CT is a peripheral state in the sports world. We're stuck between Boston and NYC. Our allegiance to sports teams is influenced by parents, peers, and what is most available. For fledgling NFL fans in Toronto, this may very likely draw them in to the Buffalo Bills world.
Of course, the fatal flaw could be the prices. Your typical new fan is what, 10 to 15 years old? Not too sure where they came up with the $250/ticket idea.
Comment